Simply 'passing'
wasn't the standard that was set by the parents of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver
Brian Vickers.

"I wasn't
even allowed to race unless I got great grades," he said Thursday at the A.G.
Gaston Boys and Girls Club in Birmingham. "I always had straight A's. Even to
this day, I constantly read, maybe three or four hours a day."

Scientific
America is among the magazines Vickers reads on his ipad. He enjoyed science and
math when he was in school and said technology has always interested him.

Thursday,
Vickers and members of his Michael Waltrip Racing pit crew tried to pass that
interest on to another generation. They visited the Boys & Girls Club as part
of an Aaron's Inc. event, "The Science of Speed."

Team members
gave teenagers an educational look at how science, technology, engineering and
math (STEM) education can pave the way to a future in NASCAR.

Of course
Vickers and his crew are in town for another Aaron's event - the Aaron's Dream
Weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, which includes the Aaron's 499 Sprint Cup
race. The team has its sights on having a strong showing at the 2.66-mile
tri-oval.

So far,
Vickers has had a solid, albeit quiet season. He's ranked No. 10 in the Sprint
Cup points race with three top 10 finishes.

Despite that
standing, Vickers said he and his team seem to be flying under the radar of
some.

"I don't
know if the team has received the attention that it deserves at times when we've
been leading laps and we've had the fast car on the race track and contended
for wins," he said. "I kind of hear it from people who say, 'Man, you ran from
20th to second and they (media) didn't say anything.'"

But, the
driver said, people in the garage know they're there. They've had fast cars,
Vickers said, but not always the results that get teams noticed.

The car blew
a tire at Phoenix and another tire failure at Darlington. Each cost the team a
strong run. And then there was a wreck at Daytona that likely kept the team
from being in the top 5 now.

"It's tough
to close the loop," Vickers said. "We've got to keep doing what we're doing."

Part of that
continuation is Billy Scott's sustained improvement in his transition from
being the lead engineer of the No. 55 Toyota Camry for the past two seasons to crew chief this season.

"I think
Billy's growing and learning as a crew chief," the driver said. "He's doing a phenomenal
job. He has a lot of experience in this sport, he's extremely intelligent. He's
really coming into his own.

"We've got
to continue to week in and week out continue to run well, have fast race cars,
put ourselves in position to win and the wins will come," Vickers continued. "We've
been able to do it in the past and we can do it again."